KingFisher Madness
by OgichiRocks
Summary: When Ichigo is wounded in an attack from the Kingfisher, a mysterious bug leads to the loss of all of his memories, and possibly his sanity! Read on, Rated T for Violence, Gore, and some minor swearing.
1. Chapter 1

King Fisher Madness

CHAPTER 1

The kingfisher sat eyeing Ichigo from across the small clearing in the woods. They had been fighting for an hour now, exchanging blows, each getting wounded by the other. Ichigo was breathing heavily, but the hollow seemed to be faring okay, three of its long tentacles lay scattered around where Ichigo had hacked them off with Zangetsu. Ichigo was bleeding from the temples and had various minor cuts and slashes all over his body.

He thought back on how he had gotten himself into this situation...

FLASHBACK

Ichigo was with his family, they were walking up the hill to visit his mother's grave, and Rukia met them at the top of the hill. Karin and Yuzu were in a good mood, chasing each other around in a good-natured way. Isshine walked a little farther behind, watching contentedly as his family seemed so happy in that moment.

"Come on Yuzu!" Karin yelled at her younger sibling as she ran off to find their mothers' grave marker. "I bet I can beat you!"

"Hey! No fair, you got a head start!" Yuzu began chasing after her sister in a failing attempt to catch up.

"Looks like they are in a good mood." Rukia spoke quietly to Ichigo as the walked side by side down the rows of stone. "Is there a reason?"

"Well, I think they're just happy to speak with Mom again, I am too." Ichigo replied, shading his eyes to watch Karin and Yuzu arranging some flowers in front of a certain stone. "Why are you here? Aren't you on duty?"

"Yes, well, I thought I would make a pit stop." Rukia looked at the ground. She felt good spending time with Ichigo.

They had arrived at the grave now, and everybody in the Kurosaki family was kneeling in prayer. Suddenly Rukia felt her soul pager buzz and moved off to take a look at things. It appeared that a powerful hollow was nearby. She didn't want to disturb anybody, so she quietly swallowed Choppy and rushed off. But not before Ichigo noticed and, swallowing his own mod soul pill, followed close behind, trying to hide his spirit pressure.

"Why did you follow me?" Rukia turned around in mid-jump after using shunpo to head farther into the forest after the hollow. Ichigo had showed up in his shinigami garb soon after she left. "I was gonna take care of this hollow and leave you to your family moment!"

"I thought I would join you." Was his only reply, before he shot forward again, having a faster shunpo than Rukia.

They arrived in a clearing and faced a massive hollow. Rukia gasped as if in recognition, before quickly explaining to Ichigo about the Kingfisher. Soon after she finished explaining, Ichigo recognized the hollow to be the one that killed his mother so many years ago.

END OF FLASHBACK

Ichigo wished he hadn't sent Rukia back to watch his family while he took his revenge on the hollow that killed his mother. He wished he hadn't almost used up all of his spiritual energy leaving almost no chance for anybody to track him down. But he knew that he couldn't let this hollow beat him, he wouldn't go down without a fight.

The hollow let out a roar, taunting Ichigo with the image of his mother, hanging in front of the hollow on the hollow's 'Lure'.

Ichigo lunged forward, slicing at the lure but connecting with nothing and being pushed away hard, hitting a tree with a sickening crack. He fell back to the ground, struggling now to hold himself up, he felt at least two broken ribs, as he coughed up blood. He spat at the Kingfisher and went at him once again, a new determination in his eyes as he pulled out his hollow mask. He let out a similar screech before slamming into the side of the hollow and letting out as large a getsuga Tenshou as he could muster before his mask cracked and fell away because of his lowered reaitsu. The hollow let out a blood curdling bellow as it crashed and toppled three nearby trees, it was wounded in the side from the getsuga, yet it still remained able to stand and continue fighting. Ichigo met its gaze evenly, knowing the next attack would be the last, when he heard a sickeningly familiar voice in his head.

"Hey, king, I know you's about ta lose! Why dontcha let me out ta finish im off for ya?" Ogichi's voice felt like cold syrup in the back of Ichigo's throat.

"No, I don't want your help, I can do this. He's just as wounded as me!" Ichigo yelled in a deathlike voice, threatening Ogichi to interfere with his fight to avenge his mother's death. "Just shut up and get the Hell out of my fight!"

"Alright, che, fine King, whatever you say... But I'll be back!" with that the ugly presence left Ichigo's head, leaving him with just enough concentration to muster his strength and hit the hollow with one last blow.

But the massive hollow was already charging at him, he didn't have enough time to block before he was nearly swallowed up in it's jaws. He jerked and struggled in an attempt to escape, but his mind was quickly becoming foggy with loss of blood and air. His struggles began to lose their vigor, and he slowly went limp as the hollow spit him onto the ground in disgust.

"You are a lucky one, shinigami." The hollow said, slowly lifting one of its claws above Ichigo. "I will show mercy because of your noble cause, and I will kill you swiftly before devouring your soul." But just as the claw pierced Ichigo's neck, it stopped, as if blocked by some other force and pulled away. Ichigo could hear someone talking that sounded a lot like Ulquiorra in the last few moments before consciousness left his body.

Ulquiorra looked down at the crumpled body of the shinigami, he had managed to stop the killing blow according to Aizen's orders, but it looked as though he had already died. Ulquiorra looked away before walking to the Kingfisher and opening a Garganta that they both stepped through and vanished.

Ichigo was in his inner world somehow. It was not crumbling as his foggy mind assured him it should be. He lay on his back; not bothering to get up, an intense pain permeated his entire body. Suddenly a familiar face came into his line of sight, and he focused enough to see that it was a curious Ogichi.

"Hey king, regret your decision to keep me hidden?"

"No."

"Oh, heh. Are ya okay?" The hollow form of Ichigo put a concerned look on his face.

"Huh? Oh, uh, not really. I hurt." Ichigo was surprised that Ogichi was worried about him, but he felt too horrible at the moment to question any form of care.

"Do ya need somethin'?" Ogichi sat down, looking at the tattered garments barely attached to Ichigo's wounded body. He began to stroke Ichigo's hair, before pulling the upper half of Ichigo's body onto his lap. He held him there for a moment, stroking his strawberry hair in a loving and caring way. Ichigo just looked up at the white face above him in a foggy incoherent manner. Ogichi's clothes became stained with blood from his counterparts' wounds.

"Your friends are lookin' for ya." Ogichi tried to explain to Ichigo, but the orange haired soul reaper had fallen into a shallow sleep like state, and didn't seem to be listening. He was thinking about this sudden and unexplained change in behavior of Ogichi. Why did he suddenly seem to care so much? Was he actually concerned for him? Or was this just a facade to make him relax and relinquish control? He slowly blinked his eyes open, realizing his hollow was still holding him in that awkward manner.

"Why?" Ichigo barely choked out, causing a small line of fresh blood to run from the scab on his neck.

Ogichi looked down at Ichigo. His black and gold eyes revealed nothing as he simply stated, "Lying on the floor won't heal your wound faster, and I gotta keep your body in top shape for when I take over."

Ichigo did not miss the lessening of Ogichi's accent, even though the warbles double voice sounded the same, it seemed to be hiding something within. Ichigo looked at the pale piece of his soul, before struggling to sit up and move away from him a little bit. He noticed the hollows previously spotless white shihakushô was now covered in dark red bloodstains.

"But why go this far? I was not so close to dying that- wait, but I was! My wound was so deep." Ichigo trailed off, noticing that his previously majorly deep wound from being bit by the hollow was not there. He was now only covered in minor wounds and bruises. When he looked back up at Ogichi he noticed the hollows lower than usual spirit pressure and shot him a questioning glance.

"I knew the wound was fatal, but how could I let ya die when ya had to avenge your mother an all, I didn't take control because, ya know," He tried to regain his usual act, but a sadness remained in his pained eyes. "Ya woulda been so mad! If I'da killed tha' hollow, che, ya're such a fool sometimes. Ya know?"

Ichigo was taken aback by the hollows sudden show of emotion; he sat transfixed, not knowing what to say. He was quickly snapped out of it, though, when Ogichi stood up and began to walk away.

"Ya know your friends just found your body. Che, I wouldn't be surprised if they thought ya were dead!" Ichigo stood up surprisingly fast considering the wounds he carried and his still major lack of blood. "See ya later then, King." Ogichi only half turned as he saw Ichigo fade into nothing.

"Is he still alive?" The worried voices of all of his friends were what he heard when he woke up in the arms of a certain Kisuke Urahara.

"Of course he's still alive! See, he's comin' around now!" the laid back voice returned as they walked through a sodden forest. It must have started to rain.

"Ichigo?"

"Kurosaki?"

"Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo blinked the rain out of his eyes as he tried to move around to see the faces of Rukia, Ishida, Orihime, and the silent Chad. "H-hey guys." His voice scratched at his wounded throat, and he felt a little bit of blood run down his neck. "How did… you f-find me?"

"Woa, now don't go talking so much! Your pretty badly wounded right now, one of your arms is pretty badly wounded." Kisuke spoke condescendingly to Ichigo as he hefted him a little higher into the bridal hold as they reached the edge of the forest. "We sent Kon home with your family. Your lucky that Rukia stayed behind when your family left or we never would have been able to find you so soon!"

"How, how long have I been-" Ichigo broke off into a long and very painful coughing spasm, spitting up mucus and large chunks of blood. He felt woozy and had a sudden intense headache. "Ohhh…"

"Are you O.K. little man? That was quite a coughing fit!" Kisuke looked at Ichigo curiously.

"Yeah, hey, can you let me stand? I want to walk some." Ichigo wobbled a little as Urahara gently stood him up. They took a few steps before Ichigo suddenly stopped and stared straight ahead before falling over, he wasn't breathing.

**Thanks for reading! This is my second fanfic ever! Please review, I won't put out the next chapter until I get at least 5 reviews, so keep em comin'!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yaaaaaayyyy! I got over five reviews! Here's the next chapter as promised! Hope you like, and keep the reviews coming!**

CHAPTER 2

"Ichigo!" The startled shout came from the suddenly panicked shopkeeper. "Quick, we have to get him to my shop immediately! I will have to use shunpo!" The others all nodded in agreement to meet him there later, all of them too shocked to speak. Had Ichigo's wounds really been that bad? He had been speaking and acting fine a moment before! Was he just choking on blood, or was there something else? These thoughts ran through the small groups heads as the broke into a run to catch up with Urahara as soon as possible.

The shopkeeper landed outside his shop moments after he had left the forest, trying not to jostle the unconscious body in his arms. He completely ignored the fact that his beloved hat had fallen off into the mud, as he rushed inside, yelling for a room to be made ready immediately.

Tessai quickly checked over Ichigo's vital signs, noticing that his heart was barely beating while Ichigo still was not breathing. Tessai began using a very complicated healing kido spell that seemed to be forcing air into Ichigo's lungs, like kido CPR. He then used another quick but complicated spell that removed some of the blood that was clotting Ichigo's throat. But something else came out with the small amount of blood; it seemed to be a little purple beetle. Tessai managed to stabilize Ichigo, before tenderly picking up the little bug and carrying it out to Kisuke.

Just then Rukia arrived shortly followed by the rest of the gang and the convened in the usual meeting area while Kisuke examined the 'Bug'.

"Um, what is that?" Rukia asked, after noticing how calm Kisuke seemed, she assumed Ichigo was O.K. for the moment.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure, it looks like a LEECH. Which is," He quickly continued on noticing their baffled looks. "A small device that an assassin may use sometimes to execute an attack on someone. They can carry a substance inside them, and have a timer on when to inject it into the subject."

"So, could that be why Ichigo suddenly passed out like he did?" Ishida slid his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose as he spoke.

"Yes, but I am still unable to identify whatever they put into him!" He scratched the back of his head, leaning over his computer screen before suddenly sitting straight up with a look of dismay on his face. "Oh no!"

"What is it?" Three startled and concerned voices said in unison.

"It's just that, I... my... precious hat! It's gone!" The three scared faces quickly turned into ones of bewilderment, anger, and disappointment.

"Oh, you mean this old hat?" A familiar voice spoke, causing them all to jump.

"Yoruichi-San! I didn't know you were here!" Rukia quickly stood and bowed to her superior. Yoruichi just threw the muddy hat at Kisuke before letting out a tired huff and taking her seat at the table.

They tried to make some small talk, but it just ended in a somewhat awkward silence as they all listened and waited for Urahara to figure out what the substance was that Ichigo was now dealing with. Tessai left to stay and watch over their patient and Yoruichi went on a hint for food. Rukia began doodling, before setting her sketchpad down in frustration.

"What are we doing just waiting around? I think we should go back to school, at least we would be doing something, rather than sitting around doing nothing! Urahara-San will contact us if there is anything urgent, right?" Rukia directed her final question at the furiously typing form of a shopkeeper.

"Yeah, of course! I agree with Rukia, I think you guys need to get back to your normal lives so all of your friends won't get suspicious. Well, see ya!" He waved them out as they stared to head down the street.

"Ichigo... Ichigo...ICHIGO!" The voice brought him out of his deep slumber; he blinked his eyes against the bright light. Where was he? What happened that made him feel like he got hit by a truck? He groaned and tried to sit up, blinking more to clear his eyes.

"Good to see you can still move!" A man in a green and white striped hat held a fan in front of his face as he spoke to Ichigo.

"Wh-Who are you?" The bleary teen rubbed his eyes once more, before looking around him, finally fully awake. "Where am I?"

"What! You don't remember your best shopkeeper friend?" Kisuke joked, hoping that Ichigo was just playing around about not remembering. But what the teen said next confirmed his dreaded suspicion.

"I d-don't remember ever seeing you before! Why the he'll am I in your house anyways?" Ichigo started to stand up, but suddenly he couldn't move, he couldn't even breath, he saw little black spots at the corners of his eyes before reeling over right on top of a certain displeased shopkeeper.

"Oooohhhhh, I don't...feel...right..." The orange mop of hair spoke from deep within the folds of Urahara's kimono top, where he had fallen just a moment ago.

"Hey! Get off me, I just ironed that top!" The striped hat replied before tugging and pulling until the unconscious teen was once again on the small pallet before him. "Teens these days."

It was in the afternoon a few days later that the usual group sat around the meeting table at Kisuke's shop. Ichigo hadn't woken up again since he fell over on Urahara. This time though, Renji, Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku were all present, having been sent to monitor the area for Arrancars. They all sipped tea while they waited for kisuke's explanation.

"It appears that Ichigo has lost all of his memories." The abrupt short sentence left the room in a shocked silence.

"What! That's impossible! Who did this? I'm gonna hurt them..." Renji's outburst trailed off into some unintelligible words that sounded a lot like cussing.

"So that was what was in the little LEECH." Ishida mused, deep in thought.

"Yep, we'll just have to wait until he wakes up to see how much he lost, and whether he will eventually remember more." Now each individual became silent as they mulled over all that they had just heard. The silence stretched for a few minutes before being suddenly broken by a loud CRASH!

"What the-" Renji was quickly interrupted by a moaning and stumbling Ichigo that ran into the room, he seemed to be panicking and kept clutching at his head. "Ichigo?"

"Would someone like to explain where the Hell I am?" Came an irritated response as Ichigo looked at each person without any recognition in his eyes. He waited for an answer but finding none he began to head for the exit.

He made it out the door before anybody could react. They jumped up and began to run after him, yelling his name. Kisuke stood at the door with Yoruichi, holding his fan over his face once more. Yoruichi had the faint look of amusement on her face as she watched the others run after the traumatized boy.

"Ichigo, wait up! We can help!" Renji ran as fast as he could to catch up with Ichigo who was now just dragging himself across the fence, muttering and clutching his head. They all caught up pretty fast and began to walk alongside Ichigo.

'Heh, King, why don't ya talk to your friends?' A warbles voice spoke in Ichigo's ears.

"What, wh-who said that?" Ichigo had a major headache, and this new voice wasn't helping.

'Oh, I see ya don't remember, Che, that's just like you King.'

"No, go away! Leave me alone! I don't know these people!" He looked up, noticing the concerned people following him. When he noticed that three of them had swords, his eyes widened and he shook his head in disbelief. Suddenly he fumbled around in his back pocket with an odd expression on his face, before pulling out his Substitute Shinigami Badge. He looked from the badge to the three shinigami in front of him, and then he glanced at Rukia, Ishida, Chad, and Orihime. Suddenly he slammed the badge onto his chest and his soul separated from his body, letting his body fall to the ground in front of him, his eyes grew in fear, as he looked himself over.

"Ichigo." Rukia looked at him. "You remember that you're a shinigami?"

"N-no, go...go away from me! I didn't do anything wrong! Leave me alone!" Ichigo yelled, his voice cracking a little in true horror. He turned and used shunpo to disappear from their sight. They felt his spirit pressure moving farther away at incredible speeds.

"Matsumoto, take his body back to Urahara, then catch up to us, we can't let Ichigo out of our sight for much longer." Captain Hitsugaya motioned for everyone to move out, Rukia switched with Chappy and the shinigami used shunpo to chase after Ichigo. That left Chad, Orihime and Ishida to run in their direction.

Ichigo finally stopped at a little park. He sat on a swing and tried to slow his panicky heart.

Why was I so scared of them? They looked like they were just trying to help. What is this pain in my head? Ichigo thought, once more curling his body to hold his head in pain. He felt terrible, he didn't know who he was, just his name Ichigo Kurosaki, he didn't know where he was, or how he got there. All he did know was that he had some kind of power that those people referred to as Shinigami. When the last wave of more intense pain left, leaving just a dull ache in its place, he straightened up. Just then three people landed in front of him, the two in front he recognized from before, but the third one looked familiar, bit she was wearing the same clothes as the first two. When did she change clothes? Did she do the same thing I did?

His questions were put aside though as he stood and faced them, putting a fierce 'Don't come near or I will hurt you' face on.

"Ichigo, please calm down, we don't want to hurt you!" Toushiro tried to speak calmly, and took a small step forward as he spoke.

"No! Get away, I-I don't know who you are or what you want, but I won't let you touch me!" The captains' eyes widened when he realized that Ichigo really didn't have any idea where he was or whom he was talking to, he also noticed that Ichigo seemed to be scared out of his mind.

"Ichigo, we-"

But Rukia stopped when she saw Ichigo's body begin to shake. Soon the slight tremors turned into violent convulsions as Ichigo fell over, desperately trying to stay up. Rukia rushed forward, trying to help him, but before she could get close enough, she found a sword pointed at her throat.

"St-stay away from... me..." The cleaver like blade shook and fell as Ichigo finally collapsed all the way to the ground. He began to writhe and move around on the ground, eyes and mouth opened in a silent scream. Suddenly he was still.

"Ichigo?" Rukia hesitantly stepped close enough to lean over the still form. "Auuuuuuuu!" Her high-pitched scream pierced the air; Ichigo's hand had grabbed her ankle and used it to pull himself up. Ichigo blinked and Rukia gasped and stumbled away when she saw the black and gold eyes that stared at her with killing intent.

"King is taking a rest for now! Instead I'm gonna take over while he gets over that nasty headache." Ichigo's voice was now warbles and doubled, it was also oddly high pitched. An estranged smile wove its way crazily onto Ichigo's face. "I'm not Ichigo!"

"No, you're... Ogichi!" Rukia stepped back until she was standing with the others again, she heard Footsteps behind her and saw Orihime, Ishida, Chad and Rangiku just showing up. Everybody quickly grasped the situation.

"Hahahahahaaa! You look pathetic, trying to stand against me! King may have lost his memories, but I certainly didn't!" Ogichi to a step forward, causing the group in front of him to take two steps back. "Tha only reason I could take over was cause little King here is slowly going crazy."

"No! Ogichi, let Ichigo back out! I know that he would never want you out! Give him back!" Renji yelled, pulling out Zabimaru. "Roar, Zabimaru!"

Blades clashed in a sudden flying of sparks in every direction. Renji jumped back and ran forward again, he swung his blade at Ogichi but ended up hitting air, Ogichi appeared behind Renji and grabbed his throat, lifting him into the air. Renji struggled violently, tugging and scratching at the fingers around his neck, but the grip only tightened and he was soon seeing spots. Just before he blacked out, he felt the hand shake and suddenly throw him to the side. He gasped and breathed in that life-giving substance called air.

Ogichi screamed, causing the people around him to clasp their ears in pain and horror at the sound. Ogichi stopped and went down on all fours, panting heavily. He looked up at the people around him, who were once again cautiously approaching.

Rukia saw him look up, and was relieved to find his eyes back to their original brown. But his eyes were still not recognizing and they had a look that she had never seen Ichigo display before. Fear.

**Enter eery music and suspense! The next chapter might take a little longer because I'm still typing it….And I'm stuck on level two on the Impossible Game….Please review, it makes me go faster!**


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

The girl with black hair seemed to want to say something to me. They all seemed to know me, and I think the red head I nearly strangled might have been my friend. Why can't I remember anything? It's as if my life only started yesterday!

I stood up and faced them again. My hand was wrapped around an extremely large sword that until recently I had never seen. The people in front of me looked like they wanted to approach, but they looked kind of frightened of something. Maybe the voice in my head had something to do with that, while he had control of my body I was in so much pain that I couldn't concentrate on anything until I realized I was hurting someone and regained control.

Now the short white haired kid was talking to me in a somewhat soothing voice, I tuned back in to listen.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, please remain calm, we don't mean any harm." He held up his hands as if to say 'I am not holding a weapon' even though he had a sword on his back. I lifted my own sword and pointed it at him, but I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just lifted it all the way and put it back on my back. This action seemed to allow the rest of the group to relax somewhat.

"Okay, I didn't mean to hurt you." I tried to speak to the red haired guy who was still gasping on his knees. He looked up with a pained expression, but it seemed he would be fine, other than a few bruises from my hand.

"Ichigo, do you remember any of us? Do you know where you are? or what happened two days ago?" The little girl with purple eyes and raven black hair asked me so many questions, she seemed to really want or need the answers. But right now I felt tired, and all those questions were too confusing for me. I looked at her, trying to answer at least one.

"N-no... T-too many questions! I can't concentrate! Go away, leave me the Hell alone!" I couldn't stand all of the staring suddenly; I thought I would go crazy if they kept looking at me like that. I turned away after raising my voice, sending some birds away from their perches in the nearby trees. I shook, I couldn't help it, and my mind was reeling from the day's events. I decided I needed some time to think, so I sprinted into the woods and climbed a tree, they would never find me here in all this thick foliage. I huddled down, and closed my eyes to think better.

CRASH STOMP CRACKLE

The noises grew louder as the group of people that were following me got nearer. How did they find me? I had hidden myself so well in the forest! But here they were staring right at me as if they had x-ray vision.

"How did you find me?" I called down. They seemed startled that I was aware of them, and they exchanged a few words amongst themselves, I could only catch a little of what they said and it sounded like this. "Doesn't seem...spirit pressure...sense..."

I called down again, this time a little louder so I got their attention. And just as they looked up I accidentally slipped and fell right off the tree, and on top of a very irritated white haired boy.

"Hey! Get off of me!" Ichigo had fallen right onto Captain Hitsugaya; Rangiku was practically rolling on the ground in laughter as they all watched the tangle of limbs slowly separate and stand up. Ichigo was nervous looking and he kept fidgeting. Toushiro just looked irritated.

"Why'd you go and fall on top of me for?"

"I didn't ask to be caught Shorty!"

"Hey! I am not short! You take that back right now!"

"Alright guys, break it up, it was an accident!" Rukia could barely hold back her smile, even though Ichigo couldn't remember whom he was talking to; he still acted the same towards the young Captain.

The small glimpse of light in Ichigo's eyes soon vanished, replaced by his hard stare that revealed nothing. He frowned and began to walk away.

"H-hey! Where are you going? Kurosaki-Kun!" Orihime couldn't just stand and watch, she had to try to help her friend. She ran up to where Ichigo had stopped and looked at him begging, "Oh please come back to the shop with us! We can help you find your memories again! And if we can't find them, then we'll just have to tell you about your life then!"

The orange haired girl with huge breasts looked up at me with the saddest eyes I had ever seen. I didn't know what shop she was talking about, or how anyone could find his memories, but he decided to trust this girl because she sounded so determined.

"Fine, but only because I have nothing better to do." He said grudgingly. Turning back to the group of people he still didn't remember. They nodded in approval and he followed them back to Urahara's shop.

Back at the shop, they found Kisuke and Yoruichi enjoying some tea. They walked in and crammed around the table, it was much too crowded with 9 people in that small room, so they decided to move into one of the bedrooms. Once they were finally settled, Kisuke inquired about what had happened after they all ran off. Toushiro gave the full report, sometimes flicking his eyes to Ichigo with a concerned look.

"So it looks like you finally calmed down! Now, we need to ask you a few questions Ichigo." Kisuke turned his eyes towards the orange haired shinigami, and suddenly everybody was staring at him.

"Ok, but just so you know, I have absolutely no idea what happened before I woke up." He tried to clear up, but his answer only lessened their hope.

"Ok, that clears up question number one, now on to number two! Ichigo, where are you?"

"Uh, well, uh... In your shop?" He tried his best to answer, but the looks he was getting told him that his answer was not enough.

"I see, well, you are in my shop yes, and my shop is currently in Karakura Town." Kisuke replied, quickly moving on to question three when he saw the look of distress on the teens face. "How old are you?"

"..."

"You are seventeen." The tired shopkeeper was losing momentum as he read out a few more questions that Ichigo still could not answer, before finally giving up and sitting back.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ichigo looked at Kisuke with a childlike expression of worry on his face. "I don't want to bother you, maybe I should just leave."

'Hey, King, why ya actin' so concerned for this old man? He means nothing to you, and neither does that group that keeps following ya around! Before ya lost your memory, they were your enemies, now they're jus' playin' your weakness to get what they want from ya.'

"Really? What do they want?" Ichigo accidentally spoke aloud, forgetting that there were people watching him.

'Nothin' much, just all that power ya got inside of ya!' Ogichi spoke quietly to Ichigo, causing him to shiver a bit with each warbling laugh.

"No, I don't want that! And stop bothering me!" He stood up and stared at the faces of the people that had been classified, in his mind, as enemies.

Kisuke, Rukia, Yoruichi, Chad, Uryuu, Orihime, Renji, Toushiro, and Rangiku all stared up at Ichigo when he began to talk to himself, and then when he suddenly stood up and looked at them in... Anger.

"What's up Ichigo? Why are you acting so strange?" Renji was confused, usually Ichigo was so calm when not provoked, had they said something to make him mad?

"You-your my enemies!" Ichigo said in shock, pointing at the group, he turned quickly and held out his arm, which was now a pale white color, his nails were turning black. He looked once over his shoulder, before clawing the air in front of him and creating a small Garganta that he stepped through. Captain Hitsugaya was the first to react, he swiftly drew his sword and shot ice at the opening of the portal, causing it to momentarily stop closing. He jumped up, closely followed by Rangiku and Renji, they dove for the portal and it sealed just as the tip of Reni's boot made it through. Ishida, Chad, Rukia, and Orihime had not made it to the portal in time, so they were stuck in the world of the living for the moment.

Toushiro fell for a moment before landing on a path made of his own spirit energy, closely followed by Rangiku and Renji, they rushed into the darkness after an already fading Ichigo.

**O.K. so it may take a little longer for me to post the chapters for this story, because I am working on another story that I will post soon. Please review and I will try to post as fast as I can! Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

I ran into the darkness. I didn't know where I was or where I was going, I just wanted to get away from my enemies. I almost wished they weren't my enemies, because then I might have been able to get back my memories. Instead I was running, on a search for my true friends. I could hear the three people behind me trying to catch up, so I just ran faster. Eventually they seemed to slow down and fell behind. I looked back to see where they went, and the ground disappeared. I fell onto some tough sand dunes and rolled for a few meters before coming to a very sandy stop.

Toshiro, Rangiku, and Renji all landed on the top of a dune without tumbling, as they had been expecting the fall. When they looked over at the large crater of sand, they realized Ichigo had not, in fact, expected the fall.

"Do you think he survived?"

"Of course he did! See he's right over-" The small white haired captain began to point, but realized that Ichigo had once again disappeared. "Great, just great!"

"Hey, at least he hasn't learned how to control his spiritual pressure! So we can track him just fine!"

Rangiku made a good point, and they all began running towards the leaky shinigami. He seemed to be heading towards the huge castle of Las Noches.

"Quickly, we must catch him before he reaches the castle!"

Meanwhile... Back at Urahara's shop...

"I wonder where Kurosaki-Kun went." Orihime was sad that he had run away again, and they had been so close to helping him too.

"What I am wondering about is why he called us enemies!" The confused Quincy looked over at Kisuke for help.

"Well, all I'm saying, is that if he thinks we're enemies, then he might think that Aizen is an ally." The shopkeeper stated matter-of-factly.

"That can't be good! What will happen to Captain Hitsugaya and the others?" A worried Rukia began drawing furiously in her notebook, intent on relieving stress.

"Aha! I think I might know why Ichigo thinks we're his enemies!" Everybody turned towards the almost-almost-excited Uryuu.

"How?" Rukia looked up from her scribbling.

"Well, you told us about his inner hollow, right Kisuke?" He looked over at the shopkeeper, who nodded. "Well, if that hollow can communicate to him in his mind, and the hollow didn't lose its memories... This could all be a sick prank pulled by the hollow!"

"I knew it!" Orihime said dramatically, pointing her finger in the air like a scientist.

"Well, that makes sense Uryuu, good job solving our mystery!" The shopkeeper patted Uryuu on the back.

"Okay, now stop touching me. Rukia, is there any way we can contact Captain Hitsugaya?" Uryuu batted Kisuke's hand away and faced Rukia.

"Well, we might be able to call his soul pager..." Rukia answered.

"Then let's get out your phone and try!"

Rukia got out her phone and dialed the number that would take her to the Captain.

Captain Hitsugaya felt an odd vibration in his pocket and realized it was his soul pager! He took it out and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Yes, it's Rukia and everybody that you left at Urahara's shop!" Came an excited, yet fuzzy voice.

"Have you figured out what's wrong with Ichigo?" captain Hitsugaya slowed down, signaling to Rangiku and Renji that it was Rukia.

"We think that his inner hollow has not lost its memories and has tricked Ichigo into thinking that we are enemies and Aizen is an ally!" Rukia's voice was fading more and more.

"That's just great! Have you contacted the rest of soul society?" Hitsugaya shoved an irritatingly close Rangiku out of his way so he could concentrate on the fading voice of Rukia.

"No, should we?"

"Yes, those are my orders, contact the soul society as soon as possible and ask them to send a reinforcement group just in case." The white haired captain glanced around, noting the small black dot moving towards the castle not too far away. He hung up on the anxious friends after Rukia gave her confirmation, and they continued on the chase.

'Ya should just keep on runnin' King, you'll get there eventually.' The echoey voice in my head kept urging me on. I wanted it to stop and just go away.

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up shut up!" I yelled out loud, hoping that the voice would hear me.

'Che, my name's Ogichi ya know.'

The simple quiet comment came a moment after I yelled. It was so unexpected that I stopped dead in my tracks. I felt weak, for some reason, like all the pent up energy and stress from the recent ordeals had just flowed out all at once. It had never occurred to me that the voice had a name, but was it my friend?

'Of course, we were once enemies but now we're friends!' The voice-no, Ogichi said in an odd tone, I didn't know whether or not to believe him, so I just nodded. 'And now ya need ta get a move on or the soul reapers are gonna catch up to us!'

I started to run again, faster than before to get to the castle. I wanted to get there as fast as possible, and then something seemed to click, and I was moving at an unbelievable speed. The castle was growing rapidly in front of me, and in no time at all I was busting down the nearest wall to get in.*

Aizen sat at his usual space on the oblong meeting table, surrounded by his subordinate Arrancars. He took a sip of tea and thought for a moment about what to say.

"As a few of you may have heard, our main target has recently entered Hueco Mundo, he is currently fighting off some of your weaker comrades." Aizen finally spoke. The Arrancars all looked at him, a few with expressions of surprise, others remained expressionless.

"Can I go fight him now Aizen-sama?" Grimmjow stood up, ready to go and fight.

"Not yet Grimmjow." The calm leader responded. "It seems there is something odd about Kurosaki Ichigo. He appears to have lost all of his memories, and now thinks soul society is his enemy."

"This is a prime opportunity to do some tests, right Aizen-sama?" The pink-haired scientist spoke up.

"I would like to talk with him first, if we can get him to come to our side, things could go amazingly well." A small smile spread across Aizen's face as he took a final sip of tea and left the room, followed by Gin and Tousen. "If any of you were to meet him, please welcome him back home."

I hit the wall hard enough to bust a hole through it. I stepped through and was met with a dark, long, blue corridor. With the hope of getting to the center, I begin running down the hall, using whatever super speed I could do. The hallway seems endless, and I look back to the hole in the wall and see only a speck of light. Suddenly, I enter a circular room with seven more halls branching off in every direction. I make a decision and slice an X in the ground from the way I came in, and then I put another mark on the floor of the hall I decide to enter, just in case it's a dead end and I needed to try another way.

Footsteps sounded from the first hall I came through and I look back and see the three people that have been following me running towards me, so I turn and run down the hall I marked.

Toushiro ran in front of Rangiku, quickly followed by Renji. They had entered through the hole that Ichigo had made and could see his figure in the distance.

"What should we do when we catch him?" Rangiku questioned her captain.

"We will have to get him to come back to soul society with us. But we'd better catch up soon, before he runs into Aizen." Captain Hitsugaya replied and they all sped up, using shunpo to catch up. When they got to the circular room where Ichigo had just been, they quickly followed the marked X and ran on towards Ichigo.

Ichigo had made it to another room, this one was larger than the one before and squarish, also there was only one other exit. In the middle of the room, blocking Ichigo's path across, was a small, human shaped hollow, the hollows jaw was covered with a swirling mask that fell down like a beard.

"Who are you? Move aside and let me through!" Ichigo shot a menacing look at the arrancar.

"I am arrancar number 200, why is a shinigami such as yourself entering my master Aizen's domain?" The Arrancar's voice was old and frail.

"My name's Ichigo Kurosaki, who is your master?" Ichigo didn't wait for a reply, instead he unsheathed his sword and charged forward at the arrancar, wounding him, but not killing. "If you won't tell me, then I'll just have to find him myself!"

Ichigo ran on, through the other door and up a really long flight of stairs. When he made it to the top, he found himself in a large desert again, this time with a sunny sky and scattered with towers. In the center was a large main building; he hurried toward it at breakneck speeds, only to be stopped by another arrancar.

"Che, finally, Ichigo want to spar now?" A blue haired person with some white stuff on his face stopped me in my tracks. Was he another arrancar like the one I wounded behind me? What is that thing on his mouth?

"Who are you? What do you mean spar? Are you my ally?" I raised my voice to get his attention.

"What! Are you sure you don't remem-!" The blue haired guy's voice was cut of as another figure slapped his hand over his mouth. This person had sort of a half helmet thing with a short horn on his head, and some tattoos on his face from his eyes to his jaw. He looked at me with such an odd look.

"Remember what Aizen told us, Grimmjow." He turned then to me and said, in what appeared to be his nicest voice. "Welcome home Ichigo."

**Sorry for the delay in updates! Just enjoying my winter break :D Reviews have been saddeningly low and ichigo wants some support! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Super Quick update this time as the last day of winter break goes on, I thought I'd give everybody another new year's treat! Although this doesn't have anything to do with new years... and I didn't get the rights to Bleach from Kubo for Christmas either...**

Back at Kisuke's shop...

"Have they sent any backup from the soul society yet?" Orihime fidgets with her dress, she looks over at Rukia who is typing furiously on her little soul pager.

"They told me that it was taken care of, that they think Captain Hitsugaya and the others will take care of it and soul society would deal with it later. The fools." She muttered the last part to herself as Orihime looked around the room impatiently. Kisuke was busy bent over his computer analyzing the bug for any kind of cure or antidote. Yoruichi was stuffing her face with food, while Chad and Uryuu had gone home long before. She wondered why she had insisted to stay, and remembered that if Ichigo got hurt, she would need to be there to help him.

"Umm, Urahara-San?"

"Yes, my pretty lady? What can I help you with?" The shopkeeper didn't even look up as he spoke to Orihime.

"Uh, n-never mind." she stuttered back. "I guess I'll just go home since there's nothing for me to do here, goodnight everyone!"

There was a chorus of good nights and goodbyes as she slid the door closed behind her and headed home, mulling over that days events in her mind.

The small group of shinigami ran up the stairs after passing the dead arrancar in the square room before. Hitsugaya was worried that Ichigo had let the hollow suffer before death, but he put that to the back of his mind as they cleared the top of the stairs and saw Ichigo in the distance, walking with two strange figures towards the castle in the center.

"No, damn it! They got to him before us!" Renji kicked the sand in frustration.

"I see we will have to take him back by force then. Come on, let's go." The white haired captain wore a stone cold expression on his face, only his eyes showed a small glint of worry at their orange haired friend.

"It seems that you got in some trouble while you were...uhh...out on your mission...to...uhhh...fight the shinigami!" Grimmjow spoke to me, apparently he was, is, my best friend, and Ulquiorra is also my friend.

"Uh-huh." I just nodded and agreed with them, it seemed real enough, and they all seemed to know me better than I knew myself. I decided to go along with it until I met their leader, then I would make a decision.

We were walking to the castle when I heard a shout from behind, I turned and saw the red haired guy coming towards us, followed by the white haired kid and trailing somewhat behind was the big breasted lady from the shop too, they were still following me. And now they were charging like they were going to attack me! I looked over at Ulquiorra and he looks as calm as ever, Grimmjow looks irritated. He exchanges a glance with Ulquiorra, who nods. Then Grimmjow is off, racing towards the oncoming foes, while Ulquiorra grabs my arm and we go flying off into the castle.

There are a million twists and turns and doors and stairs, I'm lost almost immediately after we enter the place, but Ulquiorra seems to know where he's going so I jog a little to keep up. Finally we stop in front of a large door, Ulquiorra knocks and the door opens, revealing a large room with a balcony looking out over where we just were. There is a chair on the balcony with a man in it; I assume this is the boss.

"Welcome back, Ichigo. I've been eagerly awaiting your return." The man, who must be Aizen, turns in his chair towards me. "Ulquiorra you may leave now."

The green-eyed arrancar turns and closes the door behind him, leaving us in silence.

"Do you remember who I am?" He motions me forward and I walk up and sit in a chair opposite him.

"Are you, Aizen?" I reply; I've heard his name a lot since I got here, but I wasn't sure if this was the actual man.

"Yes, very good, so I hear that you can't remember a single thing about your life?"

"No, but I do know that the people called shinigami are my enemies!" My voice comes out angrier than I intended, and a somewhat intrigued look comes over Aizen's face.

"Who, may I ask told you that?"

"Uhh, n-nobody, I just remembered it." I thought I could hear a faint laugh in the back of my head, but I shook it off as nothing and concentrate on the moment.

"I see, well it is true what you 'remembered', we here at Las Noches are indeed your allies. And our enemy is the soul society. I'll explain everything over a cup of tea." He motioned with his hand and a tall, grinning man entered the room carrying a tray of tea, he poured us each a cup, before bowing to Aizen and exiting the room.

After explaining the basics to Ichigo, Aizen began to slowly twist the story in his favor, telling Ichigo that he had been found in Las Noches as a rogue traveler and joined Aizen's army for his own reasons. Ichigo nodded and tried to comprehend what his life had been like, it sounded real enough, but how had he lost his memories in the first place? And why did everyone in the living world seem so close to him?

"I hope to start working on finding your memories soon, Ichigo. We have a very prestigious scientist here that can help-" Aizen was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. "Come in."

The door creaked open and Grimmjow stepped inside holding a rope, which he then tugged at firmly, sending three shinigami onto their faces on the ground inside the doorway.

"I caught 'em for you Aizen-sama." They were bound on their wrists and gagged, Grimmjow held the three swords in his other hand. "What would you like me to do with them?"

"Oh, I see, und their bindings, I think we can have a civil talk, right?" He looked straight at the scowling arrancar, who immediately began untying the three.

"What about their swords?"

"They can have them, and when you're done, please step outside and wait for any further orders." The warm tone of voice that Ichigo had been hearing had turned into an icy desert as he spoke to his subordinates. "Now then, welcome to Las Noches, shinigami."

"What do you mean by untying us like this?" Renji was the first to shout out, trying to rush the former captain but being forcibly held back by a quiet Rangiku.

"Shut up and let me do the talking here." Captain Hitsugaya gave a fierce look in Renji's direction before turning back to face Aizen. "What are your motives for stealing Ichigo like this?"

"Whatever do you mean, we didn't steal him, he has just returned home from a mission, right Ichigo?" The cold eyes met mine and I didn't know what to believe. These three shinigami had come all the way to their enemies land just to get me, was I that valuable an asset? Or were they actually the good guys?

"I...I just... I'd rather not answer any questions yet." My voice felt weird, the headache from earlier had returned, beating out a dull pain into my body. I needed a memory, any memory from before that could tell me which side I was on, what my opinion was, anything! But nothing came to me, so I just mumbled out some incoherent words and decided to wait and let them do the talking first.

"All we want is Ichigo back, why do you need him so much? When he learns of your plans what do you think he will do?" Hitsugaya was furious; he didn't know why Aizen was playing around with them.

"Why don't we let him make the decision?" Everybody's eyes turned towards me, what was Aizen's plan? Would I really change my mind? "My plan is to use the Hogyouku in Karakura town and create a key to the Soul Kings dimension."

"Uh, just a minute, is that...is that...bad?" I looked over to see Renji smack his face and Rangiku slapped him when she saw me looking. While the Captain, Captain Hitsugaya looked down at the floor with a somewhat hopeless expression.

"Yes, of course it's bad, if Aizen makes it to the soul king then the whole soul society will be under his control!" Captain Hitsugaya almost yelled, he sounded very frustrated.

Suddenly the dull pain in my body maximized as my confusion and frustration rose. I was still sitting in the uncomfortable chair that Aizen had given me, and I pulled up my feet as I clutched at my head. This was all too much!

'Heh, king I knew this would get to ya; I'll try to explain a little better. Aizen is the good guy, he helped you when you were in major trouble, heheh, and them shinigami from soul society are tryin ta stop you two from reaching your goals!' The warbling voice showed up again, as I listened to it, my headache faded a little and I unclenched my hands.

"What should I do then?" I thought in my head, hoping Ogichi could hear me.

'Its simple, ya need ta get rid of the competition, just slice 'em up and be done with it, Che, with your power it'll be easy.' with that, his presence faded from my head and I sat up. This time I looked around with a new determination in my eyes.

**Yay, I wonder what will happen next time, on Kingfisher Madness! Brought to you by your favorite writer Ogichirocks! Please review review review and have a great new year!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay, another update! Ichigo gets hurt, what will happen next?**

He stood up then, Aizen stepped aside and observed quietly as the orange headed teenager walked slowly towards the three shinigami near the door. Ichigo's expression was almost unreadable as he strode so calmly forward. When he reached the captain, his hand shot out and gripped the other mans throat in a vice-like hold. Hitsugaya's hands shot up to pry at the solid gripping hand around his skinny neck, but to no avail; all he could do was choke and splutter, unable even to make any words. Rangiku jumped forward, unsheathing her sword as she lunged for Ichigo's arm, trying to slice it in an attempt to free her superior. Ichigo's free hand quickly shot forward and pushed her back with unnerving accuracy into the chair he had once occupied. All the while his face showed little to no emotion.

"What the hell are you thinking Ichigo!" Renji was so enraged that he couldn't move; he didn't even glance at the struggling captain as he spouted his anger in Ichigo's blank face. "You're going to kill him! Let him go now you idiot! We're not the enemy!"

Now Renji was shaking Ichigo, holding his shoulders and swinging him back and forth violently. Ichigo's grip on the white haired captain loosened enough for Toushiro to be released, and he collapsed to the floor, gasping and coughing. Ichigo's hand fell limp by his side; he didn't make any effort to avoid or stop Renji's actions, just simply stood there and took them.

"Listen to me Ichigo! Listen, we are your friends! We helped you through so many hard times, if only you could remember something! Just listen! If you come back to the shop now, Mr. Urahara will help you regain what you lost! And if you still can't remember, then we'll just have to make more memories to fill you up!" Renji had stopped shaking Ichigo, and now stood holding him out in front of him, looking for any reaction to his words. There was none though, and he sighed in defeat, knowing that Ichigo would be their enemy now.

"Why?" Aizen turned swiftly when he heard the voice of the confused strawberry. "Why? Why? Why?"

'King, you are remembering stuff, aren't you?' Ogichi said in the back of my mind, I ignored him and listened as a memory played finally in my mind. It was a nice memory, I was with two young girls and an old man, they were my family, and we were having fun. The girls, Karin and Yuzu were their names, ran around chasing each other and laughing, while my father walked behind me laughing along with some odd joke that didn't make any sense. I was looking up the hill and I saw a girl, she had raven black hair and violet eyes, this was the same girl that had been in the living world with the rest of the black robed shinigami. I was looking at her and we talked, about something unimportant and light-hearted. We talked and I prayed I front of my mother's grave while the girl, Rukia, hung back and eventually left. I felt sad as the memory fell away, I tried to hold on to it, but it slipped through my grasp and I could not remember what happened next.

I had remembered something. What had made it click, though? My thoughts were even more confused now. Aizen had told me that I belonged in Las Noches, but in that memory, I was friends with the shinigami.

'King, king, king. Che, you just have a very twisted past. Heheheeee...' Ogichi's presence faded away before I could respond, so I focused on what was happening around me.

I had passed out, I looked around and found myself on the floor being fanned by the same man that had brought in the tea earlier. I looked around, but a sudden headache made me stay still and tense up.

"Ya hit your head pretty hard when you fell Ichi! Are you feeling any better? I'm Gin Ichimaru, Aizen's number one assistant!" He smiled down at me, I hated the nickname.

"Don't call me Ichi."

"Oh, sorry, does it bother you? What about Strawberry? Yes, it's strawberry then!" It looked like he wouldn't change his mind now, so I just let it go and moved on to sitting up. It was painful, but I did it, just to see Aizen watching from his chair, and the three shinigami tied up in the corner. The female one looked like she was hurt pretty badly, and Toushiro was still coughing, although Renji sat still looking down with anguish in his eyes.

At that moment, I knew that the shinigami must be telling the truth about being my friend, but I also knew that Aizen was much too powerful to go against him on his own terrain, so I decided to play loyalty to his side and join the others when the time was right. If it didn't turn out they really were lying...

Aizen was still drinking tea as I stood up and walked up to the chair next to his. I sat down and rubbed my eyes, this had been one very exhausting day. My mind swam through everything that had happened, and then I hit a wall where my memories had been blocked. I still couldn't remember anything from before yesterday. Although I still held on to the memory of a memory about that happy day, long ago.

"Is there something wrong, Ichigo?" Aizen's voice startled me out of my thoughts and I jumped a little in my seat.

"Huh, no I'm fine, just really tired after today's events." I replied, still holding my head in my hands.

"Gin, why don't you show Ichigo to his room now, as he probably still can't remember where it is..." Aizen trailed off as I stood and followed Gin out the door and down another maze of winding corridors.

"Tsk, Aizen really does like you. You know that though right?" The offsetting look of Gin's eyes made me shiver a little.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so. I don't really remember though."

"Well, one other thing you should know," He said as we finally reached our destination, a door that led to a neat little room. "You have many, many enemies."

With that he turned and waved goodbye, marching off down the hall like he hadn't a care in the world. I couldn't concentrate enough as I lay on the bed, about what he had said. How many enemies did I really have? That one question lay heavy on my mind as I slowly drifted into sleep.

Rukia laid in Ichigo's closet, peeking out of the slightly opened door at Ichigo's cold, empty bed. Just that morning the horrible kingfisher had wounded him, and now he couldn't remember anything and had gone over to the enemy's side. She sighed and rolled onto her back, closing the closet door all the way, and staring into the darkness. Urahara hadn't found a single thing about that bug, not even a trace of the poison given to Ichigo remained, so it was virtually impossible to find a cure without having Ichigo with them. Everybody had gone back to his or her own homes, after staying at the shop all day, there wasn't much else to do.

She rolled onto her side and pulled her pillow down by her side, holding it tightly in the night.

Orihime slept in her bed, surrounded by plush animals and soft pillows, the moonlight shone through her window and highlighted a small tear as it fled down her face and into the sheets.

Urahara still sat at his computer, even though it was long past midnight and all the lights were off. His face shadowed by the light of the computer screen, flickering as images projected themselves all over the monitor, waiting to be read. He wouldn't stop working until he had pinpointed Ichigo's whereabouts, and found a cure for his memory loss.

Ichigo's dreams were filled with horrible creatures that he feared would destroy him. He tossed and turned as the nightmares threatened to consume him. His sheets were crumpled on the floor and his body slick with sweat. Suddenly he shot straight up and woke up with a shout. He looked around in for a moment with panic and confusion in his eyes until he finally remembered where

"It was just a dream, just a dream..." He mumbled to himself, rocking a little bit on his back as he lay down and tried to go back to sleep. The crescent moon shone brightly through the little window above his bed and he stared at the shining light it gave off.

'Hey king, since your awake, why don't we go have some fun?' The hollows voice sounded almost menacing in my head. My heart was still pounding from the nightmare, and I was still really tired.

"No, I just want to go to sleep!" My voice came out a little bit angrier than I had intended.

'Aww, come on! I won't do any damage, just scare some people! King, you can sleep in your inner world while I do everything for you!' He made it sound so innocent, I still didn't think it was such a good idea though, and told him so.

'Fine then, if you want to make this hard on yourself, I'll just take over, you're not strong enough at the moment to stop me!'

I felt an overwhelming presence enveloping me, I sat up and looked down at my hands, just to see them turn a sickening white color and form claws. I jumped up and ran to the door, trying to warn someone of what was happening, I made it to the hall before the darkness swept me in and I fell down into nothingness. At least I'd be able to sleep.

Ogichi finally had power, his body was still that of Ichigo's, although now his skin and hair was white, and his eyes were black and yellow. The white Heuco Mundo clothing gave Ogichi the look of a ghost.

He let out a yell and ran down the hallway, looking to pick a fight with whomever he found first. He turned a corner and let out another loud bellow, now the inhabitants were waking up, a few of them stepping out of their rooms to see what was going on.

Grimmjow heard the commotion from his room, and he sprinted out to engage the enemy. As he turned the corner and saw Ogichi standing there, strangling a few minor hollows, his expression turned to one of shock. Nobody had ever seen this form of Ogichi. Grimmjow didn't wait any longer as he dashed towards the white shinigami, slashing out with his clawed hands. Just as he was about to hit flesh, Ogichi turned and punched Grimmjow across his face, sending the arrancar flying into the wall. Ogichi dropped the small hollow he had been strangling and walked across the hall and through the hole in the wall, carefully picking his way through the piles of debris scattered on the ground until he found the huddled form of his opponent.

"Now that's not all it took to kill ya, was it? You were mighty disappointing..." He aimed a kick at the body, but it was up in a flash and zooming in for another attack. " I knew it, you are a good opponent. Hehehehaahaaaaahaaahahahaa!" Ogichi let out a cackling laugh as he dodged all of Grimmjow's attacks. He still had yet to draw his sword. Grimmjow could not seem to get a hit in, so he finally pulled out his sword, letting it grind against the sheath, creating a ghastly screeching noise. Ogichi only laughed louder as he saw the blue haired arrancar draw his sword.

"Your so pathetic, I don't know why Ichigo ever had trouble fighting you!" Ogichi yelled out, still dodging the blade. He had taken only a few steps this entire time. He laughed as Grimmjow put failed to hit him with every swing. "Eh, why so quiet? You aren't usually this way, Che, whatever, but I'm getting bored now, so why don't we end this."

Ogichi took one step forward, shooting his hand straight out and straight towards Grimmjow's unguarded stomach. Grimmjow immediately reacted, trying to jump back before the hand pierced him, but there was no need. Ogichi had stopped moving; his crazed expression had disappeared, replaced by one of shock and horror. A thin silver blade protruded from his stomach, blood began to seep through the stark white clothes, and drip down onto the floor. He turned his head to see the attacker.

Gin stepped out of the shadows, still holding his sword; he walked in a slow circle, forcing Ogichi to spin with him. With a sudden jerk, the sword ripped itself out of Ogichi's abdomen. "Aagh, you, heh, hehehahahahaaaaa!"

Ogichi doubled over, but remained upright, clutching at his wound. He laughed out loud. Blood poured over his lips as he choked, but still he remained laughing. Aizen appeared then and whispered to Gin, who promptly sheathed his sword and walked off. Grimmjow was dismissed too, and Aizen stepped over the rubble to face Ogichi. Ogichi was now fully doubled over, and letting out only a small gurgling chuckle.

"Why are you laughing, even when you are greatly wounded?" Aizen questioned.

"Cause...it's all just...just so, so funny! !" He erupted into crazy spouts f laughter, only pausing as he began to choke on the blood spilling into his mouth. He should have lost consciousness.

Aizen turned away from the bloody shinigami, how could someone like Ichigo have such a thing within him. It didn't seem right, but for now they had to treat his wounds or else they faced the problem of losing a very powerful asset.

"Come on, we must treat your wounds, stop laughing or you'll only make it worse." A team of oddly shaped hollows appeared and began to pick up Ogichi and take him to the medical wing, but he continued to struggle, all the while giggling like a maniac. The hollows finally restrained him, strapping him down on a stretcher and bearing him away.

They placed the insane shinigami in a private room as they dressed his wound. The doctor administered a shot of clear liquid that soon put Ogichi into a drugged sleep. His entire body was limp, save for the occasional giggle.

Aizen sat at the control desk staring at the security video showing the room Ogichi was being treated in. Gin entered and placed a tray of tea on the counter, then took the other chair for himself.

"So you knew this would happen right? Are ya gonna make him lose his memory again?"

"No, I will only make the memories already lost even harder to regain. That way there is no chance that he will ever go against us." Aizen said, sipping his tea and staring down into the monitor as another shot of purple liquid was administered to the now tan Ichigo.

I woke up in another strange room, my stomach hurt like crazy, and when I tried to sit up, a powerful migraine made me collapse back down. I still couldn't remember anything about my life.

"How did I get this wound?"

'Che, it wasn't my fault, Gin caught me from behind, backstabbing jerk...' Ogichi muttered in my head.

"I thought you were just going to have some fun."

'I was, the blue haired guy and I sparred a little, that's all, I don't know why anybody else had to interfere...' He trailed off and left me to my own thoughts as I slumped down onto my pillow. So while I was sleeping Ogichi had gone off and gotten me stabbed. This was confusing, I thought he was just inside of me, how could he even come out like that.

I was interrupted from my thoughts as two nurses came in and insisted on giving me some shots. I didn't like the look of the thick purple liquid in the glass vials though. I sat up, ignoring the pain in my abdomen and tried to argue that I was feeling better and didn't need any more medicine.

"You must let us give you this shot though! It is very important." The first nurse said, thrusting the needle at me.

"No, I don't need any shots!" I jumped up and grabbed my sword off the bedside table, holding it in front of me as the nurses backed up. I circled around until I had my back to the door, then I turned and sprinted out of there. I ran down the halls, trying to ignore the increasing pain I was feeling. My feet stumbled and I tripped, sprawling myself onto the ground, I grunted as I tried to haul myself back up. As I kept running, I felt my wound open up and a dark red began to seep out of the thick bandages wrapped around it. My vision was blurry and I couldn't run straight anymore. I kept hitting the walls and tripping over my own feet. I felt light-headed and had to stop and catch my breath. Bending over and breathing deeply I noticed that everything below my waist was stained a dark bloody red. And then I passed out.

Ichigo fell forward, bashing his head on the corner of a wall as he slumped down onto the ground. Aizen turned abruptly from the monitor's light and rushed out of the room. By the time he reached Ichigo, a medical crew had arrived and was tending to him on the spot. His stomach wound was ripped open wide from running so hard, and a new gash had appeared on his forehead from hitting the wall. A small puddle of blood had formed around the shinigami.

"I trust he'll survive, right doctor?" Aizen spoke softly to the head doctor.

"Of-of course Lord Aizen, we are doing everything to ensure his survival."

Ogichi stood next to Ichigo on the side of a blue building. Staring at the unconscious shinigami. Suddenly Ichigo's eyes flickered, and opened. He stood up and looked around, before facing Ogichi.

"Where am I? And why can I see you?" He demanded.

"Cause, king, this is your inner world. You still can't remember anything about this can you?" Ogichi mumbled.

Ichigo felt that he should remember this place; he knew his sword Zangetsu lived here, and Ogichi too. But he had no memories of its appearance or every being there before.

"Where is Zangetsu?"

Ogichi looked over his shoulder, and Ichigo saw a man in a dark billowing cloak standing not too far away from them. He looked middle aged and he was standing right on top of a thin stick.

"Old man, your still here, that is you right, I remember you for some reason, why?"

"It is because I am always with you and we have a special link that can never be severed. So you will always remember me. But now is not the time for talking, Ichigo, you are about to be given a drug that will lock away your memories forever. You must go back out and stop them."

"Okay!" I left my inner world and awoke to the worst pain I had ever felt. When I passed out I had hit my head, doubling the headache I had had before and now my stomach wound was rippled open even more. A bunch of doctors were crowded around me, and I could see one was about to inject a large vial of purple liquid in me. I lashed out and knocked the purple fluid onto the ground, where the vial shattered. I rolled over and stood up, shakily at first but I began to run again. The pain was now numb as I ran. My footsteps echoed on the walls and I was immediately lost. I heard shouting and footsteps behind me every time I slowed down, so I could not stop and rest. The next corner took me to a dead end, so I unsheathed my sword and hit the wall with all my might. A light flashed and then the wall exploded outward. I turned around and saw a mob of nurses and doctors rushing towards me, all armed with vials of the purple liquid. Before they had a chance to reach me I jumped. Just as they threw all of the vials at me.

Captain Hitsugaya, Rangiku, and Renji all ran down hallway after hallway, trying to find an exit. They had escaped when they heard a commotion above them and the guards assigned to watch them had left to check it out. Finally they reached a dead end, Captain Hitsugaya yelled in frustration.

"Why don't we just use Hyorinmaru to bust open the wall?" Rangiku thought out loud. She had barely even finished her sentence as Toushiro used his zanpakuto to bust the wall down. They ran out onto the sand and began to head away from the castle as fast as they could.

Seconds after they had begun to run, an explosion from behind stopped them in their tracks. One of the walls a few stories above them had been blown up. When the dust cleared, they saw a familiar orange mop of hair dive out of the opening and plunge downwards.

"Quickly, we have to go help him!" Renji started running.

"No, what if he's still on their side? Then we would be trapped!" Toushiro grabbed Renji's arm and held him back.

"If he were on their side, why would he bust down a wall and jump out?" Renji's comment made perfect sense, and with only a second's hesitation, all three of them were sprinting across the sand to reach their fallen comrade.

**Please Read and Review my amazing story! Just a few more reviews for another update, and any and all criticism welcome!**


	7. Chapter 7

His body was crumpled on the ground and Toushiro hastily checked for a pulse, there was one, but it was very faint. They noticed the many wounds on his stomach and head. When the looked around, littered in the sand were about a dozen small vials filled with purple liquid. A few of them had broken and now lay scattered on the ground. The hole in the wall was about four stories up and empty.

Renji carried Ichigo in a bridal-style as the group moved once again away from the castle. Toushiro slipped a vial of the purple liquid in his pocket so that Urahara would have something else to study. He sent a message on his soul pager, and when they were a good distance away from the castle, a small Garganta opened up, letting them slip away.

Rukia sat on her knees at the small table, surrounded by Uryuu, Chad, Orihime, Urahara, and Yoruichi. Urahara had called them there after he had opened the Garganta for Captain Hitsugaya. Now they waited for them to return.

A loud pop and ensuing crash signaled their arrival in the other room. Everybody stood up and began to clamor to be the first one there.

"Alright, calm down! They're not going anywhere!" Kisuke threw up his hands and settled everybody down as he led them in single file down the hallway. He slid open the door and stepped inside.

Captain Hitsugaya stood straight, flanked by Rangiku, and behind them was Renji, still holding the unconscious Ichigo. A broken lamp lay on the floor next to them, the cause of the loud crash. Tessai began to clean it up as the rest of the group left and went back to their main crowded meeting room.

"Quickly, Inoue, please come with me into another room." Kisuke gently took the unconscious soul reaper out of Renji's hands and walked down the hall to yet another clean room, closely followed by Orihime.

"I will try my best!" She stated, a small tear trickled down her cheek as she used her santen kesshun to begin the healing process on Ichigo's body.

"Good, then I'll leave him to you, let us know if there are any changes." With that, Kisuke left the room.

In the meeting room, Rukia was arguing with Renji about something, Toushiro and Rangiku were arguing about something, Yoruichi was whining about running out of food and Uryuu and Chad were in a heated debate, yet again, about something. Kisuke sighed and face-palmed, relishing this moment as everything seemed normal.

"Okay, let's hear your report then, Captain Hitsugaya." He interrupted Hitsugaya, who promptly began his detailed report of everything that had happened, finishing by giving the shopkeeper the small glass vial of purple liquid.

"Well, it sure looks like Ichigo was pretty lucky to survive a four story drop like that and not even get hit by a single one of these! I will begin studying it now, in the meantime you can wait for Ichigo to wake up, it should be soon too." The shopkeeper left the room, holding the glass vial carefully and muttering about memory loss.

The room remained silent for a while, as the group waited solemnly for their friend and comrade to wake up. The silence was broken as Orihime stepped quietly into the room and sat down. Everybody turned to look at her with hopeful expressions.

"I healed all of his wounds, now he is asleep, but he should wake up any time now!" She stated matter-of-factly. There was a chorus of sighs as if everyone had been holding their breath, waiting for the outcome.

They all decided to move into the room Ichigo was in, and keep watch. Rangiku and Captain Hitsugaya had to report back to the soul society, so they left. Uryuu and Chad also went back to resume their school work, but Orihime and Rukia stayed by his side. Waiting all night for him to finally wake up.

The morning haze spread low over the small town. The sun was just beginning to rise, signaling a new day for the inhabitants of Karakura Town. Rukia lay on her side next to the pallet Ichigo was on, breathing slowly and peacefully in a light slumber. Orihime was walking with Chad and Uryuu through the mist towards Kisuke's shop. They made light conversation, but mainly kept quiet, hoping not to find anything bad at the store. Rukia slowly awakened as she heard a few soft footsteps and whispers as the store's employees began their day. She walked to the front of the shop, passing Tessai who was carrying some boxes, and sat down on the ledge. Kisuke soon appeared next to her.

"So, you're awake I see, did you sleep well?" A small smile came over Kisuke's face as he looked at Rukia.

"Yeah, I must have fallen asleep while watching over Ichigo. He's still asleep too." She replied, sighing, she looked up as the doors slid open and Orihime walked in, closely flanked by Uryuu and Chad.

"Goodmorning! We got here early in case Ichigo woke up and needed us!" Orihime explained, she wore a cheerful expression, but her eyes gave away a worried feeling.

"He still isn't awake I see." Uryuu walked forward and sat down next to Rukia. Chad and Orihime joined him after a moment.

"Nope, he should wake up any moment though." The shopkeeper was waving his fan lazily, swinging his legs like an impatient child.

They all sat still as the morning unfolded around them, birds twittered playfully in the trees outside, and Jinta and Ururu argued good-naturedly as they usually did.

Orihime was the first to feel it, followed closely by Kisuke and Rukia, then Uryuu and Chad. Ichigo's spirit pressure had flickered. They jumped up and moved into the room Ichigo was in, just in time to see his eyelids flutter.

He opened his eyes slowly, clearing the sleep from them, before sitting up and looking around. He acted much calmer than the last time he had woken up in this room. When his eyes came across the group standing in the doorway, they widened for a second until he recognized the faces. He relaxed and motioned them to come in the room.

"Kurosaki-Kun, are you okay? You look really pale!" Orihime was by his side in an instant, ready to use her powers and heal him up. But he shook his head, indicating that he was fine.

"Tell us, what exactly happened in Hueco Mundo, Ichigo?" Urahara sat down, casually fanning himself, but at the same time staring intently at Ichigo, who had yet to say a word.

"I'm sorry."


	8. Chapter 8

Toushiro stepped into the room, glancing up and down each line of his fellow Captains. They had all come to the meeting where he would make his report. He took his place in the line and waited for Head Captain Yamamoto to enter and begin the meeting. No sooner had he thought it, than the old man himself strode into the room and tapped his staff.

"Let us begin todays captain meeting. Captain Hitsugaya, I believe you have a report on the substitute soul reaper in Karakura Town?"

All eyes turned towards the short captain as he began his detailed report outlining everything that had happened since they found Ichigo with his memory gone. As he told the story, many of the captains had concerned faces on, as they had all come to like and respect the young shinigami.

When Toushiro was done, there was a short chorus of nods and concerned questions. Yamamoto tapped his staff again and quiet resumed.

"From what Captain Hitsugaya has told us, we can safely assume that Aizen is behind the loss of Kurosaki Ichigo's memories. I will allow Captain Hitsugaya to choose a small team to go with him and continue observation of the young man until he is seen as a threat. If that happens, we will take further measures, but for now, you are dismissed." He said with finality, watching calmly as the captains exited, murmuring amongst themselves.

Hitsugaya quickly gathered Rangiku, Renji, Yumichika, and Ikkaku and they all left through the main senkaimon to resume their observation of Ichigo.

After he had recanted his story, from the moment he left until his return to the world of the living, the group that sat around him was left in shock. It was unbelievable what Aizen was apparently trying to do to Ichigo, and had Aizen really told Ichigo his true plan? Kisuke hid his face behind his fan, his eyes revealing nothing about his expression.

"Are you sure you still can't remember anything?" Uryuu asked.

"Well, I can remember your names I guess. But nothing else." Ichigo was looking down at his hands, in the same sitting position that he had taken when they had first sat down, he hadn't moved an inch.

"That's helpful, my machines will be finished analyzing that purple liquid in a few hours, until then I suppose you should get some rest, Ichigo." The shop-keeper stood up slowly, indicating that the small meeting was over.

Ichigo got up and walked with the rest of his friends out to the front courtyard. When they got to the street, Chad and Orihime walked together in one direction, waving their goodbyes, while Rukia followed Ichigo.

Rukia watched Ichigo as he walked, a slight limp could be seen, but he didn't look any different. They walked down a few streets, taking turns every once in a while. Rukia enjoyed the breeze and watched the birds silhouetted in the setting sun. They were walking across the bridge over the river when she finally noticed.

"Ichigo, your lost aren't you." She stopped walking, and he turned around, looking at her with a sheepish expression.

"Well, yeah, sorry, can you point me in the right direction?" His voice was still the same, and Rukia gladly took the lead.

By the time they made it home, it was dark outside. Ishine and the girls were still awake however, and they practically bounce with joy at the sight of their missing family member. Ichigo stood with his arms up as they crowded and hugged him for what seemed like a very long time. Rukia stood to the side, watching as his eyes went from confused to realization as he seemed to finally remember what his family looked like. Although he was still very disoriented, and Rukia had to lead him to his room after they said goodnight to everyone.

That night, Ichigo slept peacefully.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Ichigo woke with a yawn and sat up in bed, just as his yelling father crashed onto the pillow where his head had been only seconds before.

"GOOOOD MORNING ICHIGOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Hey! What the heck!? What was that for? You could've hurt me!" Ichigo shot out of bed and started yelling at his father, who was currently picking glass shards out of his arms.

"Oh you know why! I'm training my only son to become the best ever!" Isshine put on a mock serious face as he explained his plan for his son.

"Well, whatever, just get outta my room!" The orange head replied, kicking his father back out of the window.

Later, Ichigo walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, now fully clothed. Yuzu was busily making a delicious looking breakfast while Karin was sitting on the couch watching the news.

"Good morning Ichi-niii!" Yuzu's pretty voice floated out over the sound of bacon sizzling. "How did you sleep?"

"I slept well I guess. What's on the news?" Ichigo turned to focus more on the tv as Yuzu went back to cooking.

"Nothing much is going on today. Just looking at the weather report, it says it's supposed to rain tonight, so make sure you don't stay out too late tonight, okay Ichigo?" Karin looked over her shoulder at her older brother.

"Yeah, okay, I will." They all turned as Isshine walked into the room, swiftly hugging everyone he passed and giving them kisses. Ichigo stepped out of the way as Isshine grabbed for him, causing the man to fall smack on his face.

"Owwwwww, that hurt!" In seconds their crazy father was over at the poster of their mom, complaining to her like a three year old. Everyone else just ignored him and took their seats to eat breakfast.

It felt good somehow to be eating breakfast with his family again. Although Ichigo still couldn't remember anything other than their names, he still felt comfort and love towards them. He looked around at their beaming smiles and happy faces, and he couldn't help but smile some himself. Everyone at the table turned toward him with confused looks.

"Ichigo, why are you smiling?" Karin asked.

"Because, because I'm so happy to have all of you as my family, thank you so much for being here for me." Ichigo couldn't wipe the goofy grin off his face if his life depended on it. All he could do was sit there and eat his breakfast and watch his beautiful family.

Later that day, Ichigo decided to go and visit Urahara's shop. Only one problem- he was lost, again. The worst part was, it seemed nobody on the street had ever heard of the shop before, so he couldn't get directions. He had no idea what to do, so he sat down on a swing in a park that he wandered past, and watched as a few kids ran around and played. He had forgotten his cell phone at home, which he couldn't find either.

Ichigo wandered around the entire town with no luck, questioning random people to no avail. It was beginning to be early evening when he found himself on the bridge over the river, looking out at the sunset. He rested his head on his hands and stared at the amazing display in front of him, the clouds were lit up pink and purple, and rays of sunlight flickered like fire on the water. A soft breeze rustled the trees on the banks and made Ichigo feel light and happy. Some birds called in the distance and everything seemed perfectly fine, he would find his way somewhere soon. So just for now, he decided to watch the sunset.

Suddenly the rays of light coming from the sunset didn't seem so far off and peaceful anymore. In fact, they appeared to be getting closer at a rapid pace. Ichigo jumped up from his seat on the railing of the bridge and backed a few feet away, careful to watch for cars. Indeed the light was coming at him, and getting closer fast. Ichigo didn't really know what to do other than wait and see what it was. Even so, as the light got intensely brighter, he brought his hands up to shield his face.

When he brought down his hands and slowly opened his eyes, he was surrounded by a brilliant white light. It didn't feel like an enemy, or a friend for that matter. Ichigo spun around, but there was no change to his new bright white surroundings. When he tried to take a step forward, he found his feet were planted firmly on the ground, while the rest of his body could move fine.

"Hello? Hey! Anybody out there?" Ichigo yelled into the light, his voice sounded muffled and distant. Then a figure appeared as if in answer to his calls.

"Hello Ichigo." The figure said.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Ichigo spat back, beginning to get angry and frustrated.

"I am called Nameda. It is my intent to give you what you want." The figure came closer and revealed itself to be a man. Nameda looked to be in his forties, slightly taller than Ichigo and wearing a black tie suit. He stopped right in front of Ichigo, who now realized that he could no longer move his arms.

"Why can't I move my feet?" Ichigo struggled trying to move his hands and feet.

"I came here to tell you something very important about who you are. And you can't move your feet or your hands because one: this bubble of light is only a little ways around and if you ran out of it you would lose your entire being," at this Ichigo immediately stopped struggling, "And two: I don't want you lashing out at me, do I? Right now your body looks perfectly still to anybody looking, you would seem lost in thought."

"Alright, what is it that you came to tell me? Just let me go so I can go home!" Ichigo practically snarled at the old man.

"All in due time, all in due time. I will begin by revealing your true past, I will give you your memories back, as long as you fulfill one condition."


	10. Chapter 10

Hey my faithful readers! It has been a long time, a really long time, a really really really long time, since I've updated this story. My only excuse is ...uh...writers block?... Well here it is now, and the only reason it's here is because I got a review the other day, which led me to continuing another story of mine, which led to people reading this story because they liked the other story so much, which led to more reviews for both stories which led to me catching up on the bleach manga, which finally led to the creation of this chapter!

Rukia paced impatiently in front of the Kurosaki household. Ichigo hadn't been spotted all day and she was afraid he had gotten seriously lost. She stopped and sat down on the curb, watching a line of ants walk by. A buzzing in her pocket nocked her out of her trance, it was her soul pager.

"Hello?" She stood up and looked down the empty street. "Oh, really? On my way!"

She started walking briskly down the street, popping Chappy in her much and giving her instructions to stay behind. She continued on faster using shunpo.

Ichigo nodded slowly, shocked at what he had just heard. The man in front of him asked an impossible thing. But Ichigo would do anything to get his true memories back.

"Your memories will return upon completion of the task. Do you understand Ichigo? Remember you must tell no one." Nameda began to step back in the white light as Ichigo gave a small nod of acceptance.

Ichigo found he could move his limbs again and the white light began to recede around him. He stumbled forward and collapsed to his knees.

"Ichigo!" Rukia landed next to him, out of breath from running. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm... I'm fine." He stood up shakily and looked at Rukia, her large concerned eyes and raven black hair.

"Are you lost? We couldn't find you all day!" She said.

They turned and Ichigo followed Rukia home. They got back just in time for Yuzu's famous dinner. Ichigo couldn't concentrate on dinner though. His thoughts were back in the white bubble, with the man, and the impossible task to regain his memories.

Rukia found Ichigo sitting on the edge of his bed staring at the wall. She decided not to bother him with small talk and instead just went straight to her bed in the closet. She was worried about him. What had he been doing all day? Why had he collapsed when she found him?

She opened the closet door a bit and peeked out at him. He hadnt moved an inch since she came in. As she watched, she began to look closer, and realized that there was something on his neck. Worried that it was another memory loss bug, she jumped out of the closet and whacked Ichigo's neck.

"Ow! What'd you do that for?" He jumped up and yelled.

"I...just...I... It was a bug, on your neck." Rukia looked down at the ground and found what she had hit, it did appear to be a beetle of some sort. She held it up to the light and showed it to Ichigo. "This was on your neck, let me make sure it didn't bite you."

Ichigo bent down and showed her the spot on his neck, it was a faint red from the slap, but there was no indication of any bite marks. Relief flooded Rukia, she was glad that they didn't have to go through the whole memory loss thing again.

"Just get some sleep, it was just a regular beetle." She sighed and went back to the closet, tossing the dead beetle in the trash.

Ichigo waited for her to close the door before changing into his pajamas and laying down to sleep. The moon shone through his window and created a peaceful feeling.

Ichigo didn't feel it though. His mind was still buzzing, as it had been all that evening. He couldn't go to sleep. Not without completing the task. He sat up in bed, quietly changed into his shinigami form and left withough making a sound.

The cold air rushed around him as he sped through the town, the man, Nameda, had given him a location along with his task. His shihakushô flapped in the wind and the ground rushed up towards him as he finally reached his destination.

Of course he didn't recognize the clearing he had landed in. All he noticed now were the broken limbs and scratched trunks of the trees that surrounded the clearing. He assumed there was a great battle that had happened recently. Quite correctly too, because this was the space where Ichigo had fought the Kingfisher.

Thank you all for reading all the way to the bottom of the page! I hope you enjoyed this section of my amazing story! If you want more chapters, or more stories, or just some virtual awesomeness, then review! I've even come up with a reason for you to review, if you answer this question correctly, then I will dedicate my next chapter to you and include a scene of your choosing (as long as it is appropriate) in the next chapter! Yay! Here's the question guys, sorry I forgot to put it there when I first posted the chapter ;P "Who is Ichigo's worst enemy, and why?"


End file.
